Elseworlds
Superman: Speeding Bullets told the story of Superman if he was adopted by Thomas and Martha Wayne, and he grew up to become Batman. Without Superman to oppose him in Metropolis, Lex easily takes over. He relocates to Gotham City for a new challenge, but he has an accident that gives him pale skin and permanent smile, like the Joker. Superman: The Feral Man of Steel features an upper-class Victorian Lex who is a bigoted, opportunistic gentleman explorer, contemptuous of women and non-Caucasians. He has an entire African village slaughtered to obtain a unique meteoric crystal (kryptonite); upon discovering its effect on the Indian jungle Superman, Lex takes him prisoner and tries to force him into assassinating Queen Victoria, clearing the way for Lex to seize power. This Lex is eventually killed by Sir Richard Francis Burton, whom he had previously betrayed and left for dead in India. In Superman & Batman: Generations, Lex appears in 1939 as Ell, a henchman to the Ultra-Humanite, wearing a red wig. After the Humanite's rocket explodes, Lex's brain is destroyed but his body is intact, the exact opposite of the Humanite (whose body was destroyed while his brain survives relatively intact). Ultra has his brain placed in Lex's body, and forty years later kills Lois Lane and arranges for Superman's powerless son- the boy having been exposed to power-draining gold kryptonite in the womb and subsequently manipulated to think that his father did it on purpose- to kill his empowered sister, via the use of an unstable serum which kills the boy soon after. Completely and utterly enraged, Superman spends a decade looking for "Lex", during which time Luthor arranges the death of Superman's other loved ones. When he finally finds him, Ultra reveals his true identity. When he tries to drain Superman's powers, Superman unintentionally kills him when hitting him with a metal bar while near a control console. In the sequel, a cloned version of Lex's brain is transferred into a robot. Lex, initially shocked at how long he has been out of action, is quickly brought up to date by his new body, and proceeds to take on the name Metallo. He is defeated by Knightwing (Superman's grandson), Cyborg, the fifth Flash and Hal Jordan. Kingdom Come presents a possible apocalyptic future. An elderly Lex brings a cadre of supervillains and brash young generation of superheroes together to form the Mankind Liberation Front, a group allegedly devoted to protecting mankind from the superpowered population. In reality, the goal of the MLF is to provoke a war between the U.N and the superhumans, allowing Lex to seize control once both sides wipe each other out, unaware his goal would lead to Armageddon. Lex also brainwashes Captain Marvel, who has grown to hate those with superpowers, and has renounced his hero identity. The MLF runs counter to the reformed Justice League, led by Superman, who comes out of retirement. His plans come to an end when Batman (Who had allied with him) betrays him, revealing his plan was to discover his hold over Marvel (in reality a grown up Billy Batson). He attempts to escape but is captured by the Batknights. He is later put to work caring for the injured in Batman's Hospital, an inhibitor collar keeping him from escaping. Post-Infinite Crisis, this has become Earth-22. Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again envisions a United States run by Lex and Brainiac, who use a hologram named Rick Rickard, which the people think is the real President, as a figurehead. He controls the more powerful heroes like Superman, Captain Marvel and Flash by holding their loved ones hostage, until Batman's underground movement manages to rescue them. When Lex attempts to trigger a nuclear war after Batman's revolution, Batman arranges for the returned Hal Jordan to shut down Earth's entire satellite defence network, subsequently allowing Lex to be killed by the son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Who were recently killed when Lex bombed the rainforest where they now lived). Superman: Red Son showed a Superman that landed in Stalinist-era Russia and became the symbol (and eventual leader) of the Soviet Union. Doctor Lex, an egotistical but ultimately benevolent super-genius employed by the American government, becomes his nemesis and creates a number of enemies for the Man of Steel to fight (including Bizarro, the Atomic Skull, and Doomsday). Later, Lex is elected President of the United States (as in mainstream DC continuity), and masterminds an economic miracle which rapidly rejuvenates the impoverished and divided country. After Superman seemingly dies and the Soviet Union collapses, Lex's influence sweeps the world and ushers in a golden age of humanity under a benign one-world government. At the end of the comic it is revealed that unknown to both of them, Superman is actually a descendant of Lex himself, sent not from Krypton, as in mainstream continuity but actually a dying Earth billions of years in the future. Post-Infinite Crisis, this has become Earth-30.